In his second fight, just four months after he turned pro, he made a big-show debut with Bellator Fighting Championships and earned a TKO victory over then-undefeated Rodrigo Pinheiro.

However, he hopes his upcoming UFC debut results in a better fallout than that short Bellator stint.

Craig (6-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC), a late replacement for injured Jared Hamman (13-4 MMA, 2-3 UFC), now meets fellow middleweight Kyle Noke (19-5-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) at UFC on FX 2. The event, which takes place in Sydney on Saturday (but airs live in the U.S. on Friday night due to the time difference), features a main card on FX. However, Craig vs. Noke is one six bouts slated for a FUEL TV preliminary-card broadcast.

Following his Bellator victory, Craig was hopeful it’d lead to bigger opportunities. Instead, though, the Texan proved simple preliminary-card filler for a local card.

“I was kind of disappointed after I had what I thought was a really exciting fight,” Craig told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). “But I couldn’t ever find it online, and I never talked to Belltor again.

“But I took it with ease. It was no big deal. I went on from there. It was a good win and a good learning experience before going back on the regional shows.”

Craig remained in Texas and competed for the International Xtreme Fight Association and Legacy Fighting Championships, where he recently won Legacy’s middleweight title with a September victory over WEC vet Eric Schambari on HDNet. He planned to continue grinding away on the regional circuit before the UFC called this past month with the injury-replacement opportunity.

“Zero hesitation,” he said. “I didn’t think it was that short notice anyway. Six week is plenty of time if you’re already in decent enough shape.”

In fact, after he first found jiu-jitsu on a break home from the University of Texas, where he graduated with a degree in political communications, Craig has been a fixture in the gym. His cousin, Travis Tooke (the namesake for Team Tooke), introduced him to grappling, and by the time Craig had graduated, he joined Tooke’s fast-growing camp. When he’s not training, he’s an instructor at the gym, so he was positioned well to capitalize on the UFC opportunity.

But rather than fighting in Texas, where he’s a crowd favorite, he’s heading into hostile territory against Australian fighter Noke, who won five straight fights (including three in the UFC) before a recent submission defeat to Ed Herman.

“I’m usually the crowd favorite because I fight in Houston a lot, and I get a lot of fan support, which is awesome,” Craig said. “But I guess it’s good to learn the other way. They’re not going to be cheering for me probably.”

You could argue that this is a win-win situation for Craig. If he wins, great. If he doesn’t, well, it’s excusable, and he’ll surely get another shot in the UFC.

Craig, though, doesn’t see it that way.

“I don’t think it’s ever a win-win,” he said. “It’s a win if you win. I expect to win. That’s what I train for. I don’t think coming out here and having a good showing just because I’m in the UFC is a good thing.